Hikers on the Cables at Half Dome in Yosemite

The Benefits of Yosemite’s Reservation System

This news article shares the various benefits the reservation system had on Yosemite National Park this year. Visitors expressed how much better their visit was without long hours of traffic, lines for restaurants and bathrooms, congested trails, and competing for the same viewpoints and photographs. The reservation system decreased park visitation by about 60%, returning […]

sign near prescribed burn reads managed fire do not report

Yosemite National Park Prescribed Burns

  Fire crews are working on prescribed burns in Yosemite Valley through the first week in November. Burns will be taking place south of Southside Drive near the El Capitan Crossover and between Southside Drive and the Four Mile trailhead. Therefore, the Valley Loop Trail will be closed from the Four Mile trailhead to the […]

Middle Ground is Needed on the Age-old Issues Around Forest Management

CSERC’s Executive Director John Buckley was featured in a guest opinion piece in the Modesto Bee. He expressed the importance of reaching middle ground in forest management practices by focusing on areas of overlapping agreement and how CSERC has partnered with other stakeholders to successfully plan and implement balanced, appropriate forest treatments on our local […]

yosemite valley

A Visit to Yosemite National Park in September 2021. What Can You Expect?

  By CSERC Executive Director John Buckley       More than two weeks before the date I planned to visit Yosemite National Park, I carefully worked through the Recreation.gov website to purchase a day-use reservation ticket.  Each reservation is valid for three days, which as it turned out was helpful for me.  I ended […]

house on fire

Climate Change, Wildfires, Forest Management, and Drought

This link below accesses an August 11th Calaveras Public Access TV interview done with CSERC director John Buckley about the pressing topics of climate change, devastating wildfires, forest management, drought impacts, and potential solutions to these significant conservation problems. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckYU_OoWwBs&list=PLos23xECbda86QA3LeaQh8768IbnyiI5d&index=1 

prescribed burn

Why We Need to Fight Fire with Fire

California has 20 million acres that need fuel reduction – like tree thinning and prescribed burning. California State and the Forest Service have pledged to treat 1 million acres a year by 2025, but last year they did less than ? of that. Fire managers are often unable to plan and implement prescribed burns because […]

prescribed fire

“Good Fire” could help control catastrophes

More ‘good fire’ could help California control future catastrophes Wildfire is inevitable. But prescribed burning—careful, intentionally set fire—could help manage the risks. BY ALEJANDRA BORUNDA PUBLISHED JULY 27, 2021 www.nationalgeographic.com   GEORGETOWN, CALIFORNIA Rob York walks calmly through the quiet pines deep in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills, trailing a mix of kerosene and gas from a […]